Complicated
by Scrappy7082
Summary: AU. Girls like Duncan. Duncan likes girls. It's as simple as that. But when a new girl comes to school, it gets a whole lot more complicated. Duncan/Courtney. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

"Duncan Evans! What did I say about no PDA on campus?"

The high-pitched voice startled the two teenagers currently occupying the classroom, causing their lips to break apart and their heads to swivel towards the speaker. It was an older lady, probably nearing seventy, of the name Edith Atkins. She was at present the oldest teacher of Hayward High School as well as vice principal. Upon sighting her, the boy immediately backed away from the young girl, leaving her to fall straight onto the hard tile. She let out a pained yelp and sent him a dirty look, but her companion didn't seem to notice; nor did he care. Instead, he gave the other, older woman a mischievous smirk. Though he knew her question was pretty much rhetorical, he replied snarkily, "You know, I'm not sure. I never listen to you."

The elderly vice principal fumed, muttering, "Why, you- Hey!" she shouted abruptly to the girl who had been trying to crawl her way out of the classroom, "You stay right here! He's not the only one who violated the rules." The girl stopped her movement, and sat back on her heels; her head bowed in shame and her face turned pink. The woman pulled out a ready pad of paper and jotted something down in red ink. "Girl," she barked sternly, "Give me your name." She tapped her pen on the paper in impatience.

Without looking up from her lap, the girl squeaked pathetically, "K-katie Santos." The sound of pen scratching against paper followed. Shaking slightly, Katie stood up to face the woman. "Please don't give me detention. I promise it won't happen again," she pleaded, but was only met with cold brown eyes hidden behind square lenses.

"Ah, but you see, Ms. Santos, it is not of matter to me whether it will happen again. What does matter is that it has already happened." Ms. Atkins brushed back an unruly strand of curly grey hair, scribbling an extra note on the slip she'd written up and handing it to the tan girl. "I advise you to be wiser in the future, my dear, especially when choosing your...men," she added snidely. She was glaring at Duncan, but he only snorted in response to the comment.

Still sulking, Katie shuffled in her pink sandals out of the room and down the hall towards the office. The second that the door slammed shut the grey-haired woman rounded on the male teen. She poked a bony finger into his chest. "You are a shameful boy, Mr. Evans! This is the second time in the past three days that I have had to punish you for messing around with these poor girls! I'm guessing that one was still not your girlfriend, was it?"

Duncan shrugged leisurely. "What can I say? She may be hot, but I don't do commitment." He grabbed her poking hand and tore it roughly away from his shirt.

His answer served only to further infuriate the woman. She yanked her hand back and spat, "You are horrid! You ought to be expelled. If only I were in charge of expulsions," she murmured angrily to herself before continuing, "Oh well, I'll just have to settle for detentions until Mr. Raden comes to his senses and sees that you are no good!" She let out a satisfied smile.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do? I don't go to detention anyway." Her grin slipped off. "Whatever, teach, I gotta run now." And with that, he was off, bursting through the door before she could respond.

Hands shaking as she stared at the wide open door, Ms. Atkins let out an enraged scream.

* * *

Duncan whistled quietly. He was standing in the hallway where his locker was located, fiddling with his combination lock until it popped open, as did the metal door of his locker. Taking out a notebook and replacing it with a folder and textbook, he packed his perpetually empty backpack and then closed the door again. He slid the strap over his shoulder, a hand through his neon fauxhawk, then started walking in the direction of the double doors that led outside. They were shoved apart to reveal an abundance of grass, as well as the other school buildings. Looking around the campus, he eventually found the building marked 6A and began heading there.

Out of all the buildings, 6A was the largest. Oppositely, 6B was the smallest. Because of this size difference, 6B was hidden quite nicely from the other buildings. Students would sit or stand in the quaint little area behind 6B on a surprisingly green patch of vegetation, drinking, smoking, or simply hanging out. This place being located on the edge of the school, they could admire the views at the same time.

Duncan chuckled to himself dryly. Those "views" were not great, seeing as all that could be seen for miles was the cruddy little town of Prescott, Ontario. With nearly 5,000 people and less than a five square kilometer area, it wasn't all that nice to look at. From Duncan's vantage point, alleys could be seen, filled with trash and dumpsters and the homeless. The back of the very building he leaned on as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes was covered with graffiti, much of which was his own work. Old, busted vehicles with black tinted windows parked permanently outside of the gates.

Duncan slid his back against the bricks, bringing a single cigarette to his lips and inhaling deeply. He blew a ring of smoke, drifting through the air until it eventually faded into nothing. This action was repeated several times.

Feeling a vibration in his left back pocket, he reached to grab his phone and turned it on to find that his friend, Geoff, had texted him. The message was filled with errors, but Duncan managed to decipher it somewhat.

 _Hey dunc i got sumthing importent 2 tell u. Met in our norm spot._

The pierced teenager rolled his eyes. Geoff, as awesome as he was, had a tendency to over-exaggerate. Whatever he had to share probably wouldn't interest Duncan in the slightest. Despite this possibility, Duncan decided he'd go find Geoff anyway. It wasn't like he was doing anything important at the moment. So, he let the smoking paper stick fall from his lips, crushed it underfoot, and then began walking to their "norm spot".

* * *

As soon as he emerged into the dark alleyway behind the admin building, Duncan was greeted with a rather loud "Hey bro!" from Geoff. Ignoring the obnoxious volume, the dark haired young man grinned and bumped fists with his blonde friend.

"Great to see you, dude! Smart move skipping English today- we had to, like, analyze the book or some shit. Mr. T seemed really pissed at me. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was because I fell asleep in class again." Duncan laughed at that. "So, anyways, Duncan, what you been up to?"

Said delinquent smirked. "Well in free I got some action with the skinny tan chick who's in math with me. You know the one, she's always squealing with her fat friend at lunch. What's her name?"

"Uh, Katie, I think. Sadie's the big one."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Anyways, we were having a great time making out until that old hag Atkins walked in. She sent tan chick to the principal and tried to give me detention. She has it in for me, I can tell," Duncan added, tapping his head. Geoff chuckled sympathetically. "I did a runner before she could actually punish me."

Geoff whooped and gave him a pat on the back. "Nice job, dude!"

Duncan smirked but continued, blowing out a breath, "So now that that's out with, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

The blonde looked confused for a moment. "What are you... Oh right!" His comrade rolled his eyes. "Bridgette told me we are getting a new student tomorrow! They announced it in her history. I think," he paused, struggling to remember, "it was a girl. Corrie or something like that."

Duncan nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Okay, that's cool and all, but what does it have to do with me?"

The party boy smiled widely. "Well, according to the picture Bridge saw, she sounds pretty hot."

"A lot of girls are pretty hot, Geoff."

His smile only grew. "I heard she's a size D at the least."

Duncan's disinterested expression dropped. "That's more like it. Thanks for the heads up, man."

Geoff responded with a thumbs up. "You get her, dude!"

And with that final encouraging statement, the two split ways.

Duncan looked forward to tomorrow.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **This chapter has officially been edited. Yay! Hope it's better than it was.**

 **-Scraps**

 **(P.S. Please review!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Brisk footsteps echoed on the paved path leading up to the front of the building. A rather small girl, about seventeen, with shoulder-length brunette hair was walking on the cement, attempting to avoid the multicolored wads of gum strewn haphazardly on the ground. Her nose scrunched up a little as she noticed they were growing in number and frequency the closer she got to the school. It soon became similar to an obstacle course, dodging the gum, and she nearly tripped, almost sending all of her books and papers to the ground. Thanks to her fast reflexes however, she managed to right herself while still holding her materials tightly to her ample chest. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath to regain her composure.

Not long after, the brunette reached her destination. Moving to grasp all of her things with only the right arm, she stretched with her left to open the large double doors. Following a short struggle to make it past said doors, she made it inside. She was met with the high ceilings, white walls, and little decoration of the administration office. Plastering on a somewhat believable smile, the girl strolled up to the front desk.

She cleared her throat at the uninterested staff member, who was texting on her phone at the moment. It took a few tries before her attention was caught. Once the middle-aged woman gave her a glance, the girl announced, "Pardon me for interrupting, but my name is Courtney Mann. I'm new here and I was wondering if I could possibly receive my class schedule so that I-"

"Yeah, yeah," the curly haired woman interrupted, much to Courtney's chagrin, "I know, ya need your classes." Rifling through an untidy stack of papers next to her computer, she pulled out a small square of paper. "Ah, here ya go." She handed the sheet to the younger girl, who gawked at her lack of manners. Her disbelief only intensified when the woman piped up irritably, "Ya can leave now."

Huffing, Courtney turned on her heel and stalked away across the carpet to the door again. Shifting her books around in her arms again, she realized that she had no idea how to find her way around. But, she noted, with a scathing glance back at the receptionist who was fiddling with her phone once more, she could probably figure it out just fine.

With her head held high, she exited the building.

* * *

Courtney quickly found out how wrong she had been in her assumption before. The campus of Hayward High School was gigantic, with large, irregularly spaced open spaces and several buildings randomly placed amongst the grass and trees. She couldn't even tell one building from another, if not for the tiny lettering on each that dubbed them numbers "1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A…" and so on so forth. So, finding her first period class was a nightmare.

She was relieved though that she had arrived nearly an hour before the start of school. This way there were fewer people to watch her struggle in frustration. The down side to this was that she had no one to ask for directions.

Decidedly giving up for the time being after a good ten minutes, Courtney took a seat underneath one of the many maple trees dotting the grounds. She dropped her stuff, excepting her schedule, onto a large pile of brightly colored leaves, then leaned against the trunk herself and closed her eyes.

She sat like this for perhaps six minutes before some rustling in the surrounding grass startled her from her tranquil resting place. Her dark eyes flew open to register a young man, her age or a year older, making his way through the vegetation towards her. When he saw that she was looking at him, and after he took in her stiffened posture, he let out a glorious laugh. "Don't be afraid, _chica_. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. The way you were sitting here, I wasn't sure. And I could never leave such a _bonita chica_ if she were distressed." He smiled brightly at Courtney, who flushed red at the compliment.

She shook her head rapidly. "Oh, n-no, I'm quite alright. I was just, uh, taking a break." Internally she cursed herself for stuttering.

Again, he flashed her a blinding grin. "I am so glad." He offered her his hand. "You're new here, yes? Would you like me to show you around? It is a rather confusing campus."

Before the polite side of Courtney's brain could respond by declining the favor, the desperate, yet rational half replied, "Oh, that would be wonderful!" Then, looking abashed at her own outburst, she said meekly, "I mean, yes, I would like that very much. Thank you." He chuckled.

As he helped her to stand, the Latino mentioned that he was a senior named Alejandro. In return, Courtney told him her name and the fact that she was a junior. He pouted at this, complaining that he wouldn't get to spend as much time with her as a result of them being in different years. She mentally rolled her eyes at the sappy line, but still felt heat rising in her cheeks.

They both started when they heard the bell sounding, telling everyone to go to their first classes. Sure enough, by now there were many more students roaming the campus, catching up with friends or heading to various classrooms. Courtney internally panicked about finding her own, then recalled that she had a guide right beside her. Alejandro smiled and held out a hand for her schedule, then with the other took her own hand. Butterflies filled her stomach at the action, but she quickly and brutally squashed them back down. He was just being a nice person; an insanely attractive nice person.

As she was pulled by the Spanish teenager through the crowded throng of students, Courtney struggled to keep her footing and her hold on her books. It was a difficult task, but she handled it relatively well. At the same time, she attempted to keep track of the buildings around her so that she might be able to find her own route in the days to come. This was even harder.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, Alejandro came to a halt outside a rather respectable room in building 3A (Courtney was sure to make an observation of this). Unfortunately for Courtney, when Alejandro stopped running, her momentum sent her crashing straight into his back. While the impact hardly affected him, it caused her things to fall and scatter across the floor. Holding a hand up to stem the stream of apologies falling out of the embarrassed girl's mouth, he stooped to gather all the fallen materials with one arm. He handed them smoothly to her before lifting one of her hands to his lips and placing a kiss upon it.

"This is where we part, _mi amor_. I will meet you after the hour's end to give you a more proper tour of the campus. Farewell." With a final grin, he was off, leaving Courtney, red-faced and dumbstruck, in front of the doorway to the classroom.

Taking a few more breaths to compose herself, she squinted through the small window into the classroom before placing one tan hand on the door handle. Just before she could enter the room and take a seat, the tardy bell rang, signaling she was late. Cringing, she took a few steps inside until the door slammed shut and all eyes were suddenly on her. Courtney felt her face flush enormously.

Unlike his nosier students, the professor simply took one glance at her and gestured that she walk over to him. The brunette bowed her head and did as told.

"Students," the professor announced once Courtney was standing next to him, "this is Courtney Mann, and she will be your new classmate. I expect you all to be very welcoming to her and make her feel like she belongs." He seemed to search the room for someone in particular as he said those words, but apparently failed in finding them as a look of puzzlement crossed his face. He shrugged it off quickly though, turning to Courtney and telling her to find a seat.

There were only two options for Courtney's seat: a seat near the middle next to an extremely fat blonde guy, or at the very back with some strangely pale girl. Though she preferred to sit in the front where she could see everything more clearly, Courtney decided she didn't want to be stuck with someone who probably farted all the time. So, she headed to the back of the room and sat down.

"Good then," the teacher continued, "I guess we'll start back up where we left off. If you'd open up your Ancient Civilizations textbook to page 148, you'll see…"

As Courtney was taking notes, she suddenly felt someone pulling on her shirt sleeve. She found it to be the goth she originally saw. Not knowing what she wanted, she kind of gave the girl a fake half-smile before returning to her notes. Ten minutes later, a piece of crumpled paper landed on her desk, the goth girl still staring intently at her. Rolling her eyes at the childish act, Courtney opened the note to find it read: _You really don't want to sit there._ Confused, Courtney looked at the girl, mouthing "Why not?"

She opened her mouth, but before she could respond, they were both interrupted by the sound of the door being thrown open. While Courtney didn't understand why anyone would come in fifteen minutes after class started, the other girl wasn't so surprised.

A teenage boy, standing in the doorway, stretched his arms above his head and yawned exaggeratedly before coming into the room. Turning to the professor, he ran a hand through his green tipped fauxhawk and smirked. "Hey, Chester. How's it going?"

The man in response grimaced and chastised him, "Duncan, you cannot call school staff members by their first names. It's horribly disrespectful." Duncan made a face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he sarcastically replied, "What're you going to do, give me detention? Like that's worked before." He let out a snort.

Most of the students were laughing silently at the exchange, including the goth girl. But Courtney could only be appalled at the teen's rudeness.

The professor had no ready comeback for him and only muttered for him to sit down. Duncan, elated by his triumph, smirked happily. When he reached about halfway to the back of the room, however, he stopped, staring straight at Courtney. Another mischievous smile formed on his pierced face.

"Well, well, Gwen. Who's the hottie sitting in my seat?"

Gwen just shook her head, amused, and turned to Courtney. The message of her expression was clear.

 _Hey, I tried to warn you._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I'm back again! This chapter is much better written than the first, but I'm planning on editing it sometime in the next five or so days so don't worry. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to review!**

 **Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year** **! (Or, if you don't celebrate, Happy Holidays** ❄️ **!)**

 **-Scraps**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"She's new." Gwen was smirking at the priceless expression on the brunette's face. "Her name's Courtney."

Courtney shook herself out of her bewildered state. She snapped at Gwen, "I can speak for myself, thank you very much!" She blew her bangs up out of her face, giving the two of them a deadpan look. She settled her glare on the mohawked boy still giving her that infuriating smirk. "Who are you?"

He grinned at her and puffed his chest out proudly. "The name's Duncan, sweetheart. It's a...pleasure to meet you," he drawled, giving her a look over and whistling to himself. Geoff had not been exaggerating for once- the girl in the seat in front of him was _smoking_ _._

Courtney huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms and trying to ignore the way he scanned her body hungrily. She felt heat rise to her cheeks and she tried to come up with something to divert his attention from her...umm...assets. Eventually she managed to bite out, "Well, I'm certainly not happy to meet an ogre like you. And what do you mean by your seat? I don't see your name on it." She twisted around to the back of the chair to and surveyed the desk just to prove her point.

"Yeah, well, it's my seat, _honey_ , so you better move your hot ass. Unless we are having a disagreement," he challenged the girl, narrowing his bright teal eyes.

Despite this, Courtney remained unintimidated. "Maybe we are." Eyes narrowed, she let out a sarcastic chuckle, "And maybe if you wanted your seat so bad, you should have actually shown up _on_ _time_. Not that you even know how to read a clock." There was a chorus of laughs at this, but it ended as soon as Duncan raised a menacing fist towards the rest of the class. Turning his attention back to the brunette, he dropped his angry expression for his regular smirk.

"Good one there, Princess. It might have been even better if it came from a girl who wasn't such a bitch," he snickered, enjoying the way her face contorted as she attempted to control her temper. Her tan skin turned red, highlighting the freckles above her nose, as her mouth opened and closed aimlessly, like a fish out of water. But the silence didn't last long.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Hey!" The teacher butted in, much later than he probably should have. "Okay, this was entertaining at first, but now it's just plain annoying. I'm starting to get a headache. Duncan take a seat and stop bothering Courtney. She's new. Be welcoming." He seemed more than mildly annoyed at the whole fiasco as he was at first, but now he looked angry at Duncan. Probably for being late. And for causing such a scene. "Oh, and Duncan you have detention this Friday."

The teenager rolled his eyes, walking to his new seat. "Whatever," he grumbled. He gave the fat blonde next to him, Owen, a death look. "Dude, if you fart, I swear I will shove my Converse so far down your throat that you'll never be able to eat again." Owen nodded fearfully. Duncan smirked to himself.

 _I still got it._

* * *

Meanwhile behind them, Courtney scoffed at Duncan's threat, shaking her head in disbelief. Gwen raised an eyebrow at the motions. The preppy girl, noticing her stare, demanded, "What? What are you looking at?"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders in indifference. "Nothing." She cast a side glance at the boy a few seats up front who was already dozing off at the teacher's lecture. "That was just... unexpected." She snorted lightly to herself, running a hand through her teal streaked locks and tearing her gaze away.

The brunette pouted at the lack of an explanation, but decided the goth in front of her was not worth stressing over and trained her eyes on the older man up front once again. He was going on about Greece, more specifically Athens and its hardships, something she had read up on over the summer break. She continued to take notes anyway, being the overachiever she was, written primly on a fresh sheet of binder paper with her favorite ballpoint pen. Courtney was so engrossed in recording every word the teacher said that she didn't notice the paper wad until it hit her in the side of the head with a crinkle. The girl raised a hand to fix the hair that had been messed up upon impact then picked up the note with the other, her eyes searching for the culprit.

"What is it with these people and passing notes?" She muttered, quietly enough that Gwen could not overhear her. Trying to open the crumpled ball without making noise, she covered the scrap with one hand and slowly unfurled it with the other, squinting at the messy handwriting scribbled inside. Her mouth moved silently as she read the words to herself, then dropped open in shock. Her face flushed pink. Her head shot up from her desk, eyes locking straight on to the only possible author of such a note.

 _Duncan_. He was staring at her smugly, and it appeared obvious that he had been waiting for her reaction. The delinquent wiggled his eyebrow suggestively and smirked at the poor girl who scowled, still sporting a blush across her cheeks. She resolutely looked away from his piercing teal eyes. She glanced down at the words again, letting them sink into her brain.

 _Hey babe,_

 _Wow, quite a mouth you've got there, Princess. I think I could put it to some good use. ;) How about you come over tonight to make up for getting me detention?_

 _-D_

Courtney came back to herself enough to scoff in disgust, sticking her tongue out at the aforementioned boy; he just sent a wink at her and went back to carving in his new desk. Her nose wrinkled in disdain as she watched the juvenile action out of the corner of her eye, trying and failing to focus back onto the lesson at hand. She kept thinking of the note, each time her scowling growing deeper and her face turning redder. Gwen tapped her on the shoulder again and raised her hands at her in confusion. The goth got nothing but a head shake in response at first, but after persisting for a moment the brunette gave in. Patience running out, she tossed the paper scrap at the other girl's head, cradling her head in her hand in embarrassment as Gwen scanned over the message. A snort was heard.

"Hey," Gwen whispered to Courtney, "Don't let him get to you. Duncan can be a real perv sometimes." To the goth's surprise, Courtney didn't snap at her or anything. In fact, her lips quirked up in a small smile, the first Gwen had seen her wearing in the short time they'd met.

The brunette shook her head lightly, murmuring back, "Thanks for the memo... but I think I picked up on that already." It wasn't spiteful or sarcastic, but playful, and Gwen found herself smiling back at the brunette haired girl.

From his seat near the middle of the room, Duncan couldn't hear their hushed conversation, but he saw the smiles on both of their faces as they turned back to their desks. It took him aback for multiple reasons: One, Gwen never smiled. Two, if Gwen did smile, she never smiled at a _prep_. And he was sure the same could be said about Courtney and goths.

He rolled his eyes as he watched her return to taking notes diligently, something he had never taken the time nor effort to do, while Gwen took out her sketchbook. As one of her closest friends, he knew she was most likely sketching a portrait of that poser Trent she'd been crushing on for months now. Thinking of his friends, Duncan laughed in his head at the memory of Geoff trying to explain Courtney yesterday. _"I heard she's a size D at the least." "I think her name was Corrie, or something?"_ Though he could easily see Geoff was right about said girl's chest, he thought it funny how, even after all these years, Geoff's inability to remember names (and overall stupidity) never failed to surprise him. He was nearly as bad as Lindsay in some aspects. Not all of course- he wasn't _that_ dumb- but some.

Presently, Duncan grimaced when he heard Owen's stomach start to rumble. That usually signaled that he was about to let one go. To prevent this, he sent the fat blonde a menacing glare. Unfortunately for Duncan, it seemed Owen was too far gone for intimidation, and a monstrous fart echoed throughout the room.

There was a chorus of groans and disgusted exclamations, a few Duncan managed to make out from Courtney. Some girls shrieked and ran out of the room. One boy even fainted upon inhaling the putrid smell. Duncan would have normally taken pleasure in everyone's misfortune if he were not subject to it himself.

The bad boy hopped onto the desk as if to pounce on Owen, and everyone immediately cowered back in fear. Owen, noticing everyone's stare, looked up fearfully. "Goddam son of a bitch! What did I say?!" His exclamation was not surprising; many people had been expecting it. But before Duncan could even land a single punch, Duncan's potential victim passed gas a second time, and though it was not as loud as the first one, it was just as deadly. His face contorted wildly for a second, until he clamped a hand over his mouth and ran to the nearest trash can.

Though most of the students felt similarly disgusted, chuckles sounded around the room at Duncan's particular misfortune. Wiping tears from her eyes, Courtney attempted to stop laughing but found it extremely difficult. When she just about finished, a glance at the teal-haired girl in the adjacent seat was all it took to get her started all over again. Said girl had been in even worse state than Courtney, clutching her stomach and emitting loud guffaws. They both received a glare from Duncan, but neither really paid him any attention. After finally deciding they were done, the two girls shared mutually bright grins.

Duncan, looking on from his new spot against the wall by the trash bin, decided that he didn't like the new girl.

* * *

A short while later, the bell rang to mark the end of the period. Courtney gladly picked up her things and began to leave the room. But before she could so much as take a step out the door, a voice called her name.

"Courtney, wait up!" It was Gwen, thank god, and not that delinquent Duncan. For a goth, Courtney actually felt like she could get along with her pretty well. So, she waited for Gwen to catch up before she started walking once more.

"What's up?" She snuck a glance at the other girl. Her head was down slightly, but Courtney could still tell there was an enthusiastic gleam in her eyes she hadn't seen before.

"Do you know where your next class is? Because if you don't, I can totally show you around."

Courtney genuinely smiled. "Really? You'd do that for someone like me?"

Gwen appeared to be somewhat self-conscious, pulling at the sleeve to her dark blue crop top and fidgeting in her combat boots. "Well, yeah, I mean, you don't seem like a total loser, unlike most of the ditzy girls here." She smirked and Courtney let out a laugh.

"Thanks for the compliment. And I appreciate your offer, but someone already agreed to be my guide." Gwen halted mid-step.

She looked confused. "Who?"

The brunette shuffled her feet in place, muttering, "Uh, I think his name was... Alejandro? Yeah, Alejandro. He's a senior." Gwen's jaw dropped. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Alejandro is just about one of the most popular guys in the school, and the most sought after." She considered her words. "Well, next to Justin that is."

Courtney looked flattered. She asked, "Really? Then why would he bother being nice to someone like me, especially a junior. I'm nothing special."

Gwen was still thinking. "I'm not sure either. You are pretty, at least for a prep," an affronted look surfaced on the brunette's face, "but he might just be using you. He's extremely manipulative. I wouldn't trust him if I were you."

Courtney's brow crinkled in confusion. "What do you-" A deep voice cut off her question.

"Ah, there you are _mi chica preciosa_. I was about to come searching for you." The Latin teenager glanced over at Gwen for a moment, and later the goth would swear she saw a grimace take over his face. "Is this your, uh, friend?" If he had, he hid the disgust surprisingly well. Courtney hadn't noticed whatsoever.

Stuttering, she replied, "Y-yes, yes, this is Gwen. We have our Ancient Civilizations class together." She sent a nervous smile at the teal-haired girl, who sent a half-hearted nod at Alejandro in acknowledgement. He didn't return it. Instead, he looked down at a nonexistent watch.

" _¡Ay!_ _chicas_ , this has been all very nice, but I am afraid I must take Courtney here to her next class. We wouldn't want her to be late on her first day, no?" He held out his hand for Courtney's and, blushing, she accepted. Gwen rolled her eyes. "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Gwendolyn." Alejandro began to lead Courtney down the hall to her next class, speaking charming words that made her blush deepen.

"It's just Gwen," said girl grumbled irritably, knowing that Alejandro couldn't hear and that, even if he could, he wouldn't care. She shifted the weight of her bag on her shoulder and strolled away in the opposite direction, shaking her head and muttering, "I can't believe someone a smart as her is dumb enough to fall for such a player. I mean, I saw him making out with Heather against the lockers just last week!" Pausing as she passed by Duncan trying to hit on a girl getting a drink from the water fountain, she added as an afterthought, "Well, I guess guys are just as bad as each other."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I'm back again! Don't you just love Gwen and Courtney's friendship? Sorry if you think they became friends too quickly. I just really wanted to give you all an update.**

 **Thanks for reading, and please REVIEW! It means a lot.**

 **-Scraps**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

After being dragged yet again down the hallways of the enormous campus to her next class, Courtney, for one of the few times in her life, was exhausted. Even as Alejandro grasped her hands in farewell and murmured soft words that would make any normal girl giggle, the brunette could hardly work up a blush. _Not that he seemed to notice,_ she thought, rolling her eyes. She just about managed to gasp out a goodbye, panting heavily, as the Latin teen ran down to his own classroom. It was another few seconds before she peeled herself off of the wall she had been leaning on to catch her breath and opened the door, with some difficulty, using her one free hand. Courtney felt relieved that not everyone had arrived; she had a much more favorable seating selection than in the last class. _Although,_ she admitted to herself, _Gwen isn't that bad._

Her eyes, scanning the room for open chairs, soon locked onto a kind-looking girl whose blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. A blue sweatshirt and jean shorts covered her slim figure, obviously tanned from spending time out in the sun, and her facial expression was relaxed. She seemed pretty sane, or at the very least, saner than the rest of the people she had encountered today, so she decided to give the girl a shot.

Courtney, standing behind the blonde, saw her start slightly when she cleared her throat. She turned in her seat to face her, eyes patient but curious. Giving a half-smile, Courtney asked, "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" The girl shook her head, blonde ponytail whipping back and forth, and watched as Courtney set down her things and sat down in the hard plastic chair adjacent to her. Finally, she smiled.

"You're Courtney, right?"

Said girl, leaning under her desk to store away her materials, jerked in surprise and yelped as the back of her head hit hard wood. With a puzzled look, she replied, "Yes... How did you know?" But as soon as the words left her mouth, a panicked look of realization came into her eyes. She covered her mouth to stop from letting out a horrified gasp. "Oh no! Did you hear about what happened in first period already? Does news really spread that fast?" her voice was frantic, no more than a whisper. She looked around the room furtively, but didn't recognize anyone from her previous class. "Who told you? Gwen? Or that neanderthal Duncan?"

Her classmate was genuinely confused. "Um, I don't know what you're talking about... I know your name because yesterday our teacher told us we were getting a new student, and I haven't seen you before. I just assumed it was you." Courtney relaxed considerably. "I'm Bridgette, by the way," the blonde added, sticking her hand out.

Courtney grinned sheepishly as she grasped her hand. "It's nice to meet you," she replied, biting her lip. "I'm sorry for freaking out like that. My first day hasn't gone as well as I hoped it to." Her tan face took on a sour expression.

Bridgette nodded her head in understanding. "Don't worry, we've all been there before." She didn't ask questions or push the subject. Courtney found herself liking the girl already.

Before either girl could get another word in, the door burst open. A curly haired woman with large, round-rimmed glasses bounced inside, carrying multiple boxes and stumbling around in her heels. Throwing the boxes carelessly onto the table, she belted out an overly enthusiastic "Good morning class!"

Most students replied grudgingly with greetings of their own while some didn't say anything at all. Courtney, on the other hand, smiled warmly at the teacher and responded, "Good morning." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bridgette grimace. She couldn't blame her. If she didn't have to make a good impression on this woman, she would have done the same.

Despite the overall apathy of her class, Ms. Clementine remained bright as ever. As she explained the lesson plan with grand gestures and loud exclamations, she unpacked materials from the containers she had brought with her. There were a few handbooks, some pencils, and two stacks of paper, both with black print covering the face.

"I hope all of you teens didn't forget that we are having our semester midterm today! You better have studied well!" Groans sounded throughout the room, and the woman's upbeat voice turned unexpectedly stern, her blinding smile vanishing and eyes hardening. "Hey! No complaining!" She scanned the classroom critically, daring someone to disobey. Everyone immediately quieted down and pasted on nervous, half-hearted grins.

"Yes, Ms. Colby." As taken aback as she was, Courtney couldn't help but be impressed with the woman's authority.

Ms. Colby resumed her happy expression. She clapped her hands together with cheer. "Much better! Well, let's get started now. Any questions?" Courtney's hand shot up. "Yes, umm... Oh, goodness, I'm sorry. I don't think I remember your name."

Internally, Courtney rolled her eyes. _Well, duh_ _._ On the outside she only gave a smile. "Actually, I'm a new student. My name is Courtney Mann; I transferred from Hillside College Prep in Vancouver."

The redhead woman's eyes widened in understanding. "Ohhhh," she drawled, "Well that makes sense! I thought I didn't recognize you, so I worried for a second that I was getting amnesia or something, or that maybe I just never noticed you before and I was just-" She let out a maniacal laugh. "I thought I was going _crazy_ for a second!"

Her students exchanged disbelieving glances _._

"Anyways," the teacher continued, twirling a piece of hair round her finger, oblivious, "Now that that's sorted, we better get started, shall we?" She picked up the stacks of test papers and answer sheets. She handed the latter to Courtney. "Here, dear. Since you won't be taking the test, you may as well help me to get everything sorted." Obedient as ever, Courtney nodded and accepted the papers. Standing from her seat, she began to walk the rows of desks, passing out papers along the way. She was a bit put off that she only received one "Thank you", and that had been from Bridgette. She pouted to herself. _Apparently manners aren't this school's strong point._

Once she had finished her rounds, she settled back into her seat. She searched in her pile for a book to read, consequently causing the brunette to come across the note that idiot Duncan had thrown at her earlier in the day. It must have gotten trapped between her notebooks. Just thinking about the delinquent made her bristle in anger. Her fists and teeth clenched.

 _God, I hate him,_ she thought _. I never knew you could hate someone so much after only knowing them for less than ten minutes, but it's definitely possible. I wonder how Gwen can stand him. I mean, he's obviously a sexist pig with absolutely no morality or regard for others._ _As if he even knows what morality means! Honestly,_ she mentally ranted _, he has a green Mohawk and wears a dog collar for God's sake! A dog collar! How much more immature could he be?_

Attempting to distract herself from her inner tirade, Courtney resolutely plopped her book, _Pride and Prejudice,_ on her desk and began reading, flipping the pages violently. She was too focused on on not thinking about Duncan that she didn't notice Bridgette looking at her curiously for a moment before she returned to her test with a shake of her head. Even if Courtney had noticed, she probably wouldn't care much. She was too frustrated. And it was all because of that ogre.

* * *

"Duncan!"

The teenager looked up with a raised brow, piercing glinting in the glare of the classroom's fluorescent lights. His expression was nonchalant, posture relaxed; meanwhile, the woman standing in front of him was anything but. Hands on hips in a rigid stance and face fixed in a fierce glare, the elderly woman seemed the perfect example of a reprimanding teacher, something with which Duncan had become all too familiar in his past years of schooling. Perhaps that was why he seemed so unconcerned, even amused, by the murderous expression she wore.

"Where is your assignment? It should be out. Wait, don't tell me—you _forgot_ again." Her voice was sneering and spiteful, the disdain visible in her eyes. Nothing new to Duncan.

He rolled his eyes. "No," he scoffed, "I didn't forget." A smirk slipped onto his face. "I chose not to do it." He thoroughly enjoyed watching the woman's face contort in irritation, her lose cheeks shaking as she sputtered indignantly at him.

"You- you- _Ugh_! This is the third time this week, Duncan! I don't think I can remember a time you ever did complete your assignment on time!"

"Funny, neither can I."

The teacher looked about ready to blow at this point, and even the chuckling students watching quieted down considerably. For a sixty-eight year old woman of 5' 2", Ms. Perkins was pretty darn intimidating. No one wanted to piss her off.

Well, apart from Duncan.

"You look a little red there, teach," he commented airily, using all his control to stop himself from laughing, "Maybe you should get some water to help you cool off."

" _That's it_!" Out of breath and absolutely fuming, she brought her fist down onto the desk. The boy sitting in it didn't seem startled in the slightest. "You are going to the office this instant, young man!"

Duncan shrugged; all least it got him out of this hell of a class. "Fine." He slipped out from his seat, swung his empty backpack onto his shoulder, and strolled right out of the door without a glance at anyone else. He could feel the eyes on his back as he turned the corner. He half expected her to yell something else after him, but she didn't. He smirked, but subtly increased his speed, just in case she decided to come after him after all. Though, he supposed, he'd left her in too great of a rage to even think of it. She was probably taking it out on the rest of the class right now, giving them a pop quiz or essay on whatever subject it was that she taught. _Ah, the poor little shits._ Duncan grinned in amusement.

Instead of heading directly to the office like he'd been ordered, the teen took a slight detour through the bathroom. He grimaced at the foul odor emanating from each of the stalls and shook his head disgustedly. He may have been a delinquent, but that didn't mean he wasn't hygienic. At least m _ost of the time_. He sniggered.

Turning the handle of the water faucet and cupping his hands, he splashed the cool liquid onto his face, enjoying the way it felt against his skin. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror for a moment before shutting off the water and smirking in satisfaction.

Damn, he was hot. No wonder chicks loved him.

 _Except for that new girl._ He frowned. She did puzzle him. Most girls—if not all—immediately fell head over heels the moment they saw him. It had happened in nearly every instance, excluding Gwen and Heather. Gwen had been his friend ever since grade school, and Heather...well, he didn't know why she hadn't fallen for him, but Heather was a manipulative bitch, so he didn't really didn't care. But anyway, something like this had never happened with a girl he had actively hit on. Usually they'd swoon and stutter, utterly _flattered_ that one of the most desirable characters in the school wanted something with them, no matter that "something" was usually just a fling. Duncan had no clue why this girl was so against the idea.

 _Well, there's no way she could possibly_ not _want a piece of this,_ he thought, winking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. _She's just stubborn. She'll come running soon enough._

At that moment, the bell rang to signal that there were only fifteen minutes left in class. Muttering curses under his breath, Duncan left the bathroom and grudgingly made his way down to the principal's office. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but, knowing his hag of a teacher, she would be in there as soon as she could to make sure he'd gone as he'd been told to. As much as he loved to irritate the woman, he didn't exactly like having his eardrums shattered from the screeching he'd have to go through later on.

Duncan sighed. What was it with women and yelling lately?

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys! Sorry about the wait. I actually finished this chapter like 2 months ago and then completely forgot about it, and then just went back to it yesterday. Oh, well—it's here now.**

 **Thanks for reading, and please, please, PLEASE review! I really appreciate it!**

 **-Scraps**


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